Privacy protected anti identity theft and payment network

ABSTRACT

A computerized and networked system protects individuals against identity theft without the need to disclose the detailed personal information of the individuals. Furthermore, the system helps prevent loss and damage to consumers, financial institutions and merchants caused by financial crimes related to identity theft. In addition, users can conduct payments in a secure manner without the need to use any traditional financial instrument. A pass code can be generated for each transaction and sent to a user&#39;s personal communications device. When the correct pass code is received from the user, the transaction is then authorized.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/211,335, filed on Mar. 30, 2009, the disclosure of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to computer networking systems.More specifically, the present disclosure relates to using networkedcomputer systems to reduce or prevent financial crimes involvingidentity theft.

BACKGROUND

Identity theft and its related crimes have recently become prevalent.Many individuals, merchants and financial institutions have alreadysuffered tremendous material loss and damages as a result of thesefinancial crimes.

If a perpetrator can steal another person's identity, he/she can easilycommit many kinds of financial crimes based on the stolen identity.Therefore, protecting the identity of a person is crucial to preventingmany types of financial crimes.

Some vendors offer identity theft protection for individuals. However,these vendors can only prevent a limited scope of identity theft. Forexample, some vendors may charge an individual a fee to post a “fraudalert” on behalf of the individual with all major credit reportcompanies such as Equifax, TransUnion, Experian, etc. According to theFair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681c-1, a user of a creditreport, e.g. a credit card company, must contact the consumer if acredit application is received on behalf of the consumer and there is afraud alert in the credit report of the consumer. In fact, consumers canpost “fraud alerts” with credit report companies by themselves.

When a perpetrator (“fraudster”) uses the identity of a consumer, whohas posted a “fraud alert,” to open a credit card account, the creditcard company may order a credit report to review the credit history ofthe consumer. As a result of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumerwill be contacted by the credit card company during the account openingprocess because there is a fraud alert in the credit report of theconsumer. Consequently, a perpetrator will not be able to open thisaccount after the credit card company contacts the consumer anddetermines that the consumer did not apply for the credit card account.

This kind of protection has a very limited scope, however. It can onlywork if the financial institution, such as the credit card company,happens to use the credit report which has a fraud alert. In reality,many identity theft cases do not involve opening a new account withanother person's identity.

Moreover, in order to post a “fraud alert” on behalf of a consumer, avendor has to collect detailed personal information of the consumerbecause the credit report companies have to verify the identity of theconsumer before allowing him/her to post the fraud alert. Naturally, aconsumer may be exposed to even greater identity theft risk because theconsumer has to disclose his/her detailed personal information to thevendor, a third party, which may have employees engaged in fraud (i.e.,fraudsters). Sharing personal information with third parties actuallycarries the risk of increased identity theft and fraud.

In addition to the examples given above, identity theft can be easilycommitted in the computer age because a user is often identified by auser ID and/or Personal Identification Number (“PIN”) and a password.Once a fraudster has stolen the user ID and/or PIN and password ofanother person, that fraudster can conduct many criminal activitiesthrough access to this account. Therefore, identity theft is a majorthreat to online banking, online trading, e-commerce, and many othercomputer related activities.

Furthermore, identity theft is often involved in payment fraud. Thetraditional payment instruments such as checks, credit cards, debitcards, ATM cards, etc. can be easily stolen or fabricated. Once afraudster has stolen or fabricated such instruments of another person,the fraudster can quickly conduct many illegal payment transactionsbefore the affected financial institutions identify the fraud and freezethe payments.

Fraudsters can commit identity theft in many ways. One objective may beto steal somebody's personal information to open a financial account.Given the fact that most financial institutions have a solid CustomerIdentification Program (CIP) in place as a result of the USA PATRIOT Actand FACT Act, opening a financial account with a counterfeit identity isnow a difficult and risky approach to commit fraud.

An easier way to commit identity theft is to steal the information of aconsumer's credit card, debit card, stored value card, etc. This can bedone, for example, by bribing waiters and waitresses in restaurants tocopy such information from the restaurants' guests. A fraudster can usethe stolen card information to pay a nominal fee to numerous backgroundsearch websites on the Internet to find useful personal informationbased on the consumer's name shown on the stolen card. A counterfeitcard and a counterfeit identification document, such as a driver'slicense, can be easily fabricated with present technology. The fraudstercan use the counterfeit card and the counterfeit identification documentto engage, at least for several hours, in a shopping spree based on theconsumer's stolen identity.

Financial institutions and merchants are losing billions of dollarsevery year because of this kind of identity theft. Additionally,identity theft victims must spend considerable amounts of personal timeto clean up their credit records, replace cards with new accountnumbers, etc., after their identities are stolen.

In fact, stealing personal information can be easily committed today.Many financial institutions and merchants have kept the personalinformation including the information of credit cards, debit cards, etc.of their clients in their databases. It has become common for employeesof financial institutions, merchants, or consumer report companies tosteal customers' personal information, commit fraud, and/or sell theinformation to fraudsters.

In addition to credit cards, debit cards, etc., checks are still one ofthe most popular payment instruments today. It is easier to fabricate acounterfeit check than to fabricate a counterfeit card. There arenumerous cases related to counterfeit checks which are used togetherwith counterfeit identification documents.

Furthermore, an online merchant cannot easily tell whether a remoteconsumer has the correct identity. If correct credit card information,which can be obtained from a stolen credit card, and the correct billingaddress, which can be obtained from Internet search websites, arepresented, the merchant cannot easily tell whether the remote consumeris actually a fraudster. An experienced fraudster can easily conductidentity theft through online transactions. As a result, onlinemerchants lose a tremendous amount of money every year.

In addition, many commercial activities conducted on the Internet arebased on user ID and/or PIN and password. Once the user ID and/or PINand password of a person are stolen, there is no way to tell whether theperson logging in remotely has the correct identity or not. User IDand/or PIN and password can be stolen through many ways. For example, afraudster can obtain the User ID and/or PIN and password of a person byremotely watching or recording the finger movement of the person whenhe/she logs into a computer system. Phishing is another common schemeused by fraudsters to solicit personal information directly from acustomer by falsely representing a financial institution or a merchant.

In summary, identity theft and its related crimes can be easilycommitted today and individuals, merchants and financial institutionsare suffering enormous losses and damages. There is no fully reliablesolution available to prevent identity theft and payment fraud. If afraudster can steal another person's identity, he/she can easily commitall kinds of financial crimes based on this stolen identity.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes a networked computer system to preventidentity theft, fraud, and other related financial crimes. In addition,the present disclosure enables consumers to conduct payments in ananti-fraud manner without the need to use any traditional financialinstrument which can be easily stolen or fabricated.

In addition, as a result of the present disclosure, there is no need forconsumers to carry traditional payment instrument such as cash, checks,credit cards, debit cards, pre-paid cards, gift cards, stored-valuecards, ATM cards, monetary instruments, etc.

In accordance with the present disclosure, the personal information of aconsumer is stored in a database in a networked computer system. When apresumed consumer tries to conduct a transaction with individuals,financial institutions or merchants based on the stolen identity of theconsumer, personal information of the consumer, such as a photo,challenge question, etc. can be provided to the individuals, financialinstitutions or the merchants through the network. The individuals,financial institutions and merchants can then verify whether thepresumed consumer (e.g., a subject person) corresponds to the personalinformation of the true consumer provided by the computer system andthus reject the transaction if the result is negative, i.e., if thesubject person is a potential fraudster.

The computer system can help individuals, merchants and financialinstitutions accurately and quickly identify a consumer. Furthermore,the present disclosure can also suppress or prevent identity theft in aremote and/or online transaction and similar computer-relatedapplications.

To implement the above system of secure transactions, several obstaclesmust be overcome. First, the personal information of a consumer ishighly confidential. Most consumers are reluctant to provide theirpersonal information to a computer system for other individuals,financial institutions or merchants to use.

Even if consumers are willing to provide their personal information forother individuals, financial institutions or merchants to use, theindividuals and people working for financial institutions or merchantscan also be fraudsters or accomplices of fraudsters, as such informationis available to be stolen.

If the detailed personal information is not available, it is also notpossible for a third party, such as an agent, to post a fraud alert withany credit report company on behalf of a consumer.

In addition, individuals, financial institutions and merchants may notbe able to verify the personal information with a remote person duringan online and/or remote transaction even if the personal information isavailable.

Furthermore, some minors may not have an identification document, suchas a driver's license, passport, etc. Additionally, some parents may notfeel comfortable letting minors carry large sums of cash, pre-paidcards, gift cards, etc. during shopping. Alternatively, while shoppingor on a trip, a consumer may forget to bring his/her wallet or may havelost the wallet, which contains the payment instruments andidentification documents. Therefore, there is a need for enablingconsumers to conduct payment transactions without using any traditionalfinancial instrument or identification document, while stillguaranteeing security against identity theft and fraudulent use.

In the present disclosure, a computer system to prevent identity theft,has a computer processor and a memory device coupled to a network; adatabase stored on the memory device adapted to store at least a firstset of data derived from a consumer's personal information in a mannerin which the consumer's personal information cannot be recovered fromthe first set of data. The database is further adapted to store,associated with the first set of data, a photo of a consumer and/or achallenge question and its answer created by the consumer. The computersystem also includes a communications device transmitting in response toinstructions from the processor the photo and/or the challenge questionto a user via the network when the processor receives from the user asecond set of data from the network. The second set of data correspondsto the first set of data and is associated with a subject.

Furthermore, a computer system to prevent identity fraud has a computerprocessor and a memory device coupled to a network; and a databasestored on the memory device. The database is adapted to store at leastone set of user identification information. A code generator is operableon the computer processor to create a new pass code. The new pass codecannot be known before its creation and shall expire after a period oftime. The new pass code is generated, in response to each receipt of theset of user identification information from a device interface. Thecomputer system also includes a first communications device transmittingthe pass code to the user, and a second communications devicetransmitting an authorization to the device interface when the pass codeis subsequently received from the device interface before the pass codeexpires.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, upon receivingthe pass code from the computer system, the user transmits via acommunications device a confirmation to the computer system. Acommunications device transmits an authorization in response toreceiving the confirmation from the user.

In addition, a computer system to prevent consumer identity fraud has aprocessor and a memory device coupled to a network. The processorreceives over the network from a consumer contact information, anexpiration date of a fraud alert, and a desired early warning period torenew the fraud alert. The processor transmits to the consumer on theoccurrence of the desired early warning period a reminder to post a newfraud alert with at least one credit report company. The computerprocessor receives from the consumer a new expiration date for the newfraud alert.

Alternatively, a computer system to prevent consumer identity fraud hasa processor and a memory device coupled to a network. The processorreceives over the network from a consumer identification informationrecognized by at least one credit report company and a request to post afraud alert. The processor requests the credit report company to postthe fraud alert on behalf of the consumer based on the identificationinformation. The processor requests the fraud alert to be repeatedlyposted until a cancellation is received from the consumer.

As another alternative, a computer system to prevent consumer identityfraud has a processor and a memory device coupled to a network. Theprocessor receives over the network from a consumer personal informationand a request to post a fraud alert. The processor logs in at least onecredit report company's device interface on behalf of the consumer andrequests a fraud alert to be posted on behalf of the consumer. Theprocessor repeats the request for posting a fraud alert until acancellation is received from the consumer.

Moreover, a computer system to prevent identity theft has a computerprocessor and a memory device coupled to a network. A database stored onthe memory device is adapted to store at least a first set of data and asecond set of data provided by a consumer. The first set of data and thesecond set of data are personal information associated with theconsumer. The computer system also has a first communications devicetransmitting in response to instructions from the processor the secondset of data to a device interface via the network when the processorreceives from the device interface a third set of data from the network.The third set of data corresponds to the first set of data and isassociated with a subject. The computer system includes a secondcommunications device receiving confirmation from the device interfaceindicating whether the second set of data is accurate based on theinformation associated the subject. The processor determines a degree ofaccuracy of the personal information provided by the consumer based onconfirmations received from multiple device interfaces.

This disclosure also presents a computerized method to prevent identitytheft. A computer system receives identification information from apresumed consumer and stores the identification information in adatabase. The computer system also receives a personal phone number fromthe presumed consumer and stores the personal phone number associatedwith the identification information of the presumed consumer in thedatabase. The computer searches the database to find all historicalidentification information associated with the personal phone number ofthe presumed consumer; and indicates a potential identity theft by thepresumed consumer when the identification information of the presumedconsumer does not correspond to other historical identificationinformation stored in the database and associated with the personalphone number of the presumed consumer.

In this disclosure, the terminology “network” or “networks” generallyrefers to one communication network or several communication networks,which can be wireless or wired, private or public, or a combination ofthem, and includes the well-known Internet.

In this disclosure, the terminology “computer” or “computer system”generally refers to either one computer or a group of computers, whichmay work alone or work together to accomplish the purposes of thesystem.

In this disclosure, the terminology “processor” generally refers toeither one processor or a group of processors, which may work alone orwork together to accomplish the purposes of the computer system.

In this disclosure, a “bank” or “financial institution” generally refersto a financial service provider, either a bank or a non-bank, wherefinancial services are provided.

In this disclosure, a “bank account” or “financial account” generallyrefers to an account in a financial institution such as banks, creditunions, stockbrokers, trading companies, securities companies,investment companies, insurance companies and agencies, financecompanies, payment services companies, money services organizations,financial services providers, etc. where transactions can be conductedthrough payment instruments such as cash, checks, credit cards, debitcards, gift cards, pre-paid cards, stored value cards, ATM cards, wires,letters of credit, monetary instruments, electronic fund transfers,automatic clearing house, etc.

In this disclosure, a “consumer” generally refers to a customer,subject, person, payer, user, or client, etc., seeking to perform atransaction with an individual, merchant, and/or financial institution.

In this document, the terminology “official identification document”generally refers to a passport, a driver's license, a voter card, abenefits card, a national identification card, an identity card, acertificate of legal status, and other official documents andinformation bearing instruments that identify a designated individual bycertain verifiable characteristics, that are issued or certified by aconsulate, embassy, government agency, or other governmentalauthorities, and that are protected against unauthorized copying oralteration by the responsible government. In particular, such “officialidentification documents” can be formed from various materials,including paper, plastic, polycarbonate, PVC, ABS, PET, Teslin,composites, etc. and can embed the identification information in variousformats, including printed or embossed on the document (or card),written on a magnetic medium, programmed into an electronic device,stored in a memory, and combinations thereof. The “identificationinformation” may include, but is not necessarily limited to, names,identification numbers, date of birth, signatures, addresses, passwords,phone numbers, email addresses, personal identification numbers, taxidentification numbers, national identification numbers, countries thatissue the IDs, states that issue the IDs, ID expiration date,photographs, fingerprints, iris scans, physical descriptions, and otherbiometric information. The embedded information can be read throughoptical, acoustic, electronic, magnetic, electromagnetic and othermedia.

In this disclosure, a “device interface” generally refers to a keyboard,a keypad, a monitor, a display, a terminal, a computer, a control panel,a vehicle dash board, a network interface, a machinery interface, avideo interface, an audio interface, an electrical interface, anelectronic interface, a magnetic interface, an electromagnetic interfaceincluding electromagnetic wave interface, an optical interface, a lightinterface, an acoustic interface, a video interface, an audio interface,a contactless interface, a cellular phone interface, a Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA) interface, a handheld device interface, a portabledevice interface, a wireless interface, a wired interface, and otherinterfaces that can communicate with a computer system.

In this document, the terminology “terminal” or “kiosk” generally refersto equipment, including a computer and/or its peripherals,microprocessor and/or its peripherals, ATM terminal, check-cashingkiosk, money services kiosk, merchant checkout stand, cash register,coin exchange machine, parking lot payment kiosk, other payment kiosks,contactless device, wire line phone, mobile phone, smartphone, PDA,digital assistant, entertainment device, network interface device,router, and/or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), etc., which interfacesa user with a computer network, so that the user may interact withcomputer systems and other equipment connected to the computer network.

For a further understanding of the nature and advantages of thedisclosure, reference should be made to the following description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a system and network diagram of a Privacy ProtectedAnti-Identity Theft and Payment Network (“PPAITPN”) to enable consumers,financial institutions and merchants to jointly prevent identity theft,fraud and related financial crimes.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an example process, indicating how a consumerregisters with the computer system of PPAITPN as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are flow charts of an example process, indicatinghow the system shown in FIG. 1 protects retail stores against identitytheft and fraud.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process, indicating how the systemshown in FIG. 1 protects online and/or remote merchants against identitytheft and fraud.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are flow charts of an example process, indicatinghow the system shown in FIG. 1 protects financial institutions such asbanks against identity theft.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an example process, indicating how the systemshown in FIG. 1 can ensure that a perpetrator cannot log into the systemeven if the perpetrator has stolen the correct user ID and/or PIN, andpassword.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are flow charts of an example process, indicatinghow the system shown in FIG. 1 empowers a user to conduct an anti-fraudpayment without using any traditional payment instrument.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an example process for helping a consumer posta fraud alert with a credit report company.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Most identity theft cases belong to a category referred to as “stealingidentity randomly,” in which the fraudster randomly steals the identityof a victim whom the fraudster may not even know. Under suchcircumstances, the fraudster usually tries to conduct as many financialtransactions or purchases as possible based on the stolen identity veryquickly before the fraud is discovered by the victim, vendors, and/orfinancial institutions.

“Stealing identity selectively” refers to identity theft cases where thefraudster may know the consumer. The fraudster is generally easier totrace in such cases, and therefore the incidence of such fraud is lessfrequent.

The present disclosure describes a system to prevent identity theft inboth the “stealing identity randomly” and the “stealing identityselectively” categories. In addition, the present disclosure enablesprevention of other financial crimes associated with identity theft.

In the present disclosure, a Privacy Protected Anti-Identity Theft andPayment Network (“PPAITPN”) is established on a computer network such asthe Internet, which may be accessed globally. The PPAITPN includes acomputer system that records and stores the transactions in a database,manages the accounts in PPAITPN, and controls the network andtransaction activities occurring on the PPAITPN.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer logs into thePPAITPN computer system through a device interface and registers withthe computer system of PPAITPN. However, to protect the consumer'sinformation privacy, the PPAITPN computer system only collects a set ofpartial data of the personal information of the consumer through adevice interface.

For the purpose of this disclosure, a consumer's personal informationincludes the identification information contained in, shown on, orassociated with such instruments or identification documents. Exemplarypersonal information includes a name, address, date of birth, taxidentification number, national identification number, personalidentification number, type of the identification document orinstrument, identification number associated with the identificationdocument or the instrument, country, state, government organizationand/or private organization issuing the identification document or theinstrument, expiration date of the identification document or theinstrument, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, signature,biometrical information, financial account information, utility accountinformation, insurance account information, brokerage accountinformation, and/or financial service provider information.

For the purpose of this disclosure, the word “document” and the word“card” are generally interchangeable.

A partial list of exemplary instruments or documents includes a driver'slicense, birth certificate, alien identification card, passport,official identification document, national identification document,benefits card, voter card, etc. and financial instrument such as acredit card, debit card, prepaid card, stored-value card, gift card,check card, ATM card, check, stock certificate, insurance ID card,brokerage ID card, police ID card, membership ID card, etc.

For example, the device interface of the PPAITPN computer system mayonly collect the zip code of the address shown on the consumer'sidentification document, the year of birth, the last four digits of theID number, the first two letters of the first name shown on the ID, thefirst two letters of the last name shown on the ID, the country/state ofissuance of the ID, the expiration date of the ID, etc.

Because only a set of partial data of the consumer's personalinformation is used, the consumer is not identifiable. Furthermore,there is no way to precisely identify the consumer from or through thisset of partial data stored in the database.

Although only a set of partial data of the consumer's personalinformation is stored in the PPAITPN's database, the probability of amismatch for two persons having the same set of partial data can besubstantially reduced to zero if a sufficient amount of partial data isused. In the current example, the probability for a mismatch is in themagnitude of about 1 out of 10²². The number 10²² is derived from theapproximation of 10⁵ (5 digit zip code)×10² (year of birth based on twodigits of a 100-year life span)×10⁴ (4 digits of ID number)×26² (2letters of first name)×26² (2 letters of last name)×200 (estimatednumber of participating countries)×365×4 (a 4-year effective period forthe ID).

Even if two consumers have the same set of partial data, such confusioncan be easily resolved by other methods, such as reviewing additionalinformation such as a photo, or contacting the consumers forclarification, or asking additional questions based on the consumer'sadditional partial data. Consequently, a user of the PPAITPN computersystem can still uniquely identify an individual in the PPAITPN databasealthough only a set of partial data of the individual's personalinformation identifies an individual.

Because only a set of partial data of an individual is stored inside thePPAITPN database, even if a hacker breaks into the computer system ofthe PPAITPN, there is no meaningful personal information stored there.

More importantly, because nobody can obtain useful information from theset of partial data, a consumer does not need to worry about whether afraudster can steal his/her personal information by accessing thePPAITPN database.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumer uploadshis/her recent photo into the computer system of PPAITPN. Because aperson's face is exposed to the public everyday and many online socialnetworks may have already posted the photo of the person on theInternet, the photo of a consumer is generally not considered to be“private information.”

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer providesadditional information, e.g., social security number and name, so thatthe PPAITPN can verify the accuracy of the partial personal informationprovided by the consumer through third parties such as governmentagencies, consumer credit report companies, etc.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, in order to open anaccount, a consumer uploads his/her name and tax ID so the PPAITPN canverify the existence of the consumer through government records. Becauseeach consumer has one unique tax ID, each consumer has only one chanceto register with the computer system of PPAITPN. If a duplicate tax IDis detected, the PPAITPN can conduct an investigation to identify whichconsumer has the correct tax ID and can filter out the fraudster. Thetax ID can be encrypted in the database, or encrypted in a separatedatabase, so that nobody can see or use it after the account openingprocess.

To comply with anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing andanti-financial crimes requirements, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the computer system screens the consumer against regulatorylists to ensure that the PPAITPN can conduct business with the consumerin compliance with applicable regulations and laws. In anotherembodiment of the present disclosure, the computer system of the PPAITPNconducts transactional monitoring to detect suspicious activities incompliance with applicable regulations and laws.

It is possible that a fraudster may attempt to open an account with thePPAITPN but provide the PPAITPN with another person's financial accountinformation (i.e., stolen information). To prevent this kind of fraud,in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, when a consumerprovides information about a financial account in the consumer's name,the PPAITPN can conduct a transaction with the presumed consumer'sfinancial account and request the consumer to report the amount and/orthe type of transaction. If the consumer cannot report it correctly, theconsumer may be a fraudster. To further protect the consumer, thefinancial account information can be encrypted so that nobody can see oruse it.

To ensure that the partial data stored in the PPAITPN database isup-to-date, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumerupdate his/her partial data in the PPAITPN database whenever there is achange of information. For example, when a consumer moves to anotherstate, his/her driver's license and address may change and the consumerupdates the partial identification data stored inside the PPAITPNdatabase. The prior information before the change can be stored in ahistorical record database for future reference.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer provides one ormore contact phone number and/or email address for contact purposes.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer input into thePPAITPN database a list of questions and answers designed by theconsumer and associated with some relatively unique fact known only bythe consumer. For example, a question may be “What is the name of aperson who sat next to me during 1^(st) grade?” Because the questionsare designed by the consumer, the chance for a fraudster to know theanswers is practically negligible. For the purpose of this disclosure,these questions are referred to as “challenge questions.”

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the challenge questionis “What is the key code?”, and a consumer is required to input a keycode into the device interface of a PPAITPN computer system. For thepurpose of this disclosure, a key code is an alpha-numeric combinationdesigned by the consumer, substantially like a password. The chance foranother person to know or guess the key code is extremely low if the keycode is long enough.

To further strengthen the protection of the consumer, in yet anotherembodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN uses each key codeonly once or during a pre-defined period of time. The consumer mayupdate the key code periodically. Alternatively, the consumer can storemultiple key codes at one time to avoid the burden of frequentlyupdating the key codes.

To provide additional protection to the consumer, in one embodiment ofthe present disclosure, a consumer can select his/her own user ID,Personal Identification Number, account number, password, etc. Inanother embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer can changehis/her user ID, Personal Identification Number, account number,password, etc. from time to time as an extra protection against theft ofthese data used on the PPAITPN.

After the consumer has registered with a computer system of the PPAITPN,if a fraudster tries to use the consumer's stolen identity to open afinancial account at a bank, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a bank employee can enter into the computer system of thePPAITPN a subset of partial personal information used by the PPAITPN.The computer system of the PPAITPN searches its database to retrieve thephoto of the consumer for display by the bank employee.

Alternatively, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, the bankemployee can scan an official identification document of the presumedconsumer instead of manually entering the subset of partial informationinto the computer system of the PPAITPN. The computer system of thePPAITPN can search its database to retrieve the photo of the consumerfor display by the bank employee. The bank employee can deny theapplication for a new account or prevent any transaction if the presumedconsumer does not match the photo of the consumer.

If the bank employee cannot distinguish the fraudster based on the photoof the consumer, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, thebank employee poses the challenge question or requests the key codedesigned by the consumer. If the person cannot answer the challengequestions or provide the key code correctly, this person is possibly afraudster.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the bank employee canrequest the person to provide an additional piece of partial personalinformation. The computer system of the PPAITPN compares the additionalpiece of partial personal information with the consumer's informationstored in the PPAITPN database to determine whether the person is theconsumer.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a bank employee cancall the consumer's phone number, which was provided by the consumer andstored in the PPAITPN database, to verify whether the person in the bankis truly the consumer. In an alternative embodiment of the presentdisclosure, an employee of the bank can send an email to the consumer toverify whether the consumer is the person in the bank.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the bank employee caninform the PPAITPN computer system if the bank employee rejects thetransaction and the PPAITPN computer system can send an alert message tothe consumer so that the consumer is alerted of a possible identitytheft and/or fraud against the consumer. As an alternative embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the bank employee can confirm that the bankemployee has accepted the transaction so that such confirmation can beused by the PPAITPN computer system to further validate the accuracy ofthe information provided by the consumer.

It is possible that a consumer has not yet opened an account with thePPAITPN computer system when the bank employee enters into the computersystem of the PPAITPN a subset of the consumer's partial personalinformation used by the PPAITPN. Under such circumstances, no photo orchallenge question of the consumer is available from the database of thePPAITPN computer system. Accordingly, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the bank employee can ask a presumed consumer to provide thephone number of his/her personal communication device such as mobilephone, PDA, smartphone, etc. The PPAITPN computer system can verify theidentification information provided by the presumed consumer with thecustomer background information available from the phone company whichcollects such information during the phone account opening process. Acommercial arrangement can be made between the PPAITPN and the phonecompany to share such information for fraud prevention purposes. If theinformation provided by the presumed consumer does not correspond to theinformation available from the phone company, the presumed consumer mayhave stolen other person's identity.

To make sure that the fraudster does not provide an incorrect phonenumber, the PPAITPN computer system will send a message or call thepresumed consumer based on the phone number received from the presumedconsumer. If the presumed consumer can receive the message or phonecall, this presumed consumer most likely owns the personal communicationdevice. To ensure that the presumed consumer has truly received themessage or phone call, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, thePPAITPN computer system can send a pass code or message to the presumedconsumer and ask the presumed consumer to provide the received code ormessage back to the PPAITPN computer system. If the PPAITPN computersystem can receive the correct code or message from the presumedconsumer, the presumed consumer's identity is confirmed. Furthermore, inanother embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN computersystem will store the identification information and the phone numberprovided by the presumed consumer into a database. If a fraudster stealsthe identification information of other persons to conduct fraudulenttransactions, it is only a matter of time before the PPAITPN computersystem detects two persons with different identification information,but linked to the same personal phone number because the fraudster mayuse the same personal phone number in these two cases.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN computer systeminforms the bank employee of possible identity theft when the presumedconsumer provides his/her personal phone number to the bank employee andsuch personal phone number is associated with a different person in thedatabase of the PPAITPN computer system. In addition, the PPAITPN canconduct a special investigation on this case.

Similarly, if a fraudster attempts to use the consumer's identity topurchase goods or services at a merchant after stealing the consumer'scredit card, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the photoof the consumer, the challenge questions, the key codes, and/or theadditional partial information can be used to detect the fraudster.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the merchant informsthe PPAITPN computer system if the merchant rejects the transaction andthe PPAITPN computer system can send a message to the consumer so thatthe consumer will be alerted that there is a possible identity theftagainst the consumer.

As an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the merchant canconfirm that the merchant has accepted the transaction so that suchconfirmation can be used by the PPAITPN computer system to furthervalidate the accuracy of the information provided by the consumer.

If a fraudster attempts to use the consumer's identity to purchase goodsor services online, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, thechallenge questions, the key codes and/or the additional partialpersonal information can be used by the online merchants to detect thefraudster.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, if the PPAITPNcomputer system rejects the transaction because the answer is wrong, thePPAITPN computer system can also send a message to the consumer so thatthe consumer is alerted of a possible identity theft against theconsumer.

As an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, an onlinemerchant can confirm that the online merchant has accepted thetransaction so that such confirmation can be used by the PPAITPNcomputer system to further validate the accuracy of the informationprovided by the consumer.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN can alert theconsumer's financial institutions after identifying a possible identitytheft and/or fraud against the consumer so that the financialinstitutions can act to protect the consumer and the financialinstitutions.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer system canuse the alert provided by the PPAITPN computer system to implementadditional provisions to protect the consumer, the financialinstitutions and possibly other clients of the financial institutions.An additional software system can operate in the financial institutionsfor anti-fraud purposes based on the alert provided by the PPAITPNcomputer system. As a result, the PPAITPN enables consumers, financialinstitutions and merchants to jointly detect identity theft and preventfinancial crimes once the consumers, financial institutions andmerchants have registered with PPAITPN.

To ensure that a fraudster cannot use a stolen identity to cheat thePPAITPN, the computer system of the PPAITPN can record the historicalactivities of each consumer in a database and provide an indicator toshow how reliable the information associated with the consumer is. Ingeneral, the longer a consumer has maintained an account with thePPAITPN, the less chance the consumer is a fraudster. The more inquiressubmitted by merchants and/or financial institutions to check a consumerwith no possible identity theft having been identified, the less chancethe consumer is a fraudster. The patterns of the confirmations andfailed confirmations received from merchants and/or financialinstitutions can provide a good indicator of how reliable the dataprovided by the consumer is.

For example, if a consumer has a long history with the PPAITPN, but onlyfew inquiries from merchants and/or financial institutions have everoccurred related to the consumer, the existence of the consumer may bequestionable. It is possible that a fraudster has stolen the identity ofa consumer and used it to open an account with PPAITPN. If an unusuallylarge number of inquires about a consumer have been received within avery short period of time right after the consumer opens the PPAITPNaccount, it is questionable why this consumer behaves very differentlyfrom others. If the consumer has appeared at two different merchantlocations which are far away from each other and it is impossible forthe consumer to travel so fast between these two locations, the consumerand/or one of the merchants may be suspicious. If a merchant orfinancial institution fails to confirm or disagree with theidentification information of the consumer provided by the PPAITPNcomputer, the consumer's identification information which was providedby the consumer and stored in the PPAITPN database may be questionable.If the confirmations about a consumer are always received from only afew particular merchants, it also may be questionable whether these fewmerchants are accomplices of the consumer who intends to commit identitytheft. If a merchant has confirmed a person's identity while that personturned out to be a fraudster later, the reply from the merchant may bequestionable in the future. If a merchant is questionable, its opinionsmay be questionable. In addition to the above examples, there are manyother ways to detect whether there is any suspicious or unusualactivity, pattern or characteristic associated with a consumer or amerchant.

Therefore, based on the confirmations, the failed confirmations and theactivities, patterns and characteristics of merchants which areinvolved, the PPAITPN computer can identify suspicious activities,patterns and characteristics associated with a consumer. Since an honestconsumer generally does not behave suspiciously, the PPAITPN candetermine how reliable the information provided by the consumer is basedon the consumer's activities, patterns and characteristics which areindirectly provided by the users (i.e., merchants and financialinstitutions) of the PPAITPN. As a result, even if the credibility ofthe sources of data (e.g., the consumers) cannot be verified and thecredibility of third parties (e.g., merchants and financialinstitutions) which validate the accuracy of the data cannot beverified, the PPAITPN computer can still measure the reliability of thedata provided by these sources based on statistical analyses of thevalidation results provided by the third parties and the statisticalanalyses of these third parties. The users of the PPAITPN informationcan be alerted if the reliability of the information is questionable orunknown.

It is preferable that a nationwide campaign is used to inform allconsumers to register with the PPAITPN as early as possible so that nofraudster will have a chance to use a stolen identity on the PPAITPN.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, users of the PPAITPN canreport a complaint about a particular consumer and such complaint isposted on the PPAITIN. The consumer will be notified by the PPAITPNcomputer system and will be able to post his/her own version of story inresponse to the complaint. These open expressions of both parties'opinions are fair to both parties and will provide an alternativereference about the consumer.

Traditionally, it is difficult for a merchant to know the contactinformation of a consumer in a transaction because the financialinstitution which processes the transaction is prohibited by law fromreleasing such information to the merchant. This lack of contactinformation presents a problem to the merchant when conducting amarketing campaign because the merchant does not have the informationneeded to contact the consumer. Although some merchants offer incentivesfor consumers to provide such information at the point of sale, manyconsumers do not like to do so because it is troublesome.

Since the PPAITPN can be used by merchants to verify the identities ofconsumers, a link can be established and stored in the database of thePPAITPN computer system between a merchant and a consumer whenever anidentity verification process is conducted on the consumer by themerchant. Because a merchant may only verify a consumer's identity whenthe consumer conducts a transaction with the merchant, the PPAITPNcomputer system can automatically record and store into a database allthe consumers whose identities have been verified by a merchant.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN computer systemenables a merchant to send marketing, promotional information or couponsthrough email, mail, fax, phone, message, etc. to consumers whoseidentities have been previously verified by the merchant through thecomputer system of PPAITPN. The marketing, promotional information orcoupons can be sent to the consumers based on the contact informationstored in the database of the PPAITPN computer system. If a particularconsumer does not want to receive such marketing, promotionalinformation or coupons, the consumer can request the PPAITPN computersystem to block such information or coupons.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a merchant can enterproduct codes of the products purchased by a consumer into the deviceinterface of the PPAITPN computer system when the merchant conductsidentity verification of the consumer during a transaction. As a result,the PPAITPN computer system can identify which consumers have purchaseda particular product from the merchant.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a merchant can preciselyreach the target market by requesting the PPAINTPN computer to sendmarketing, promotional information, coupons, etc. only to consumers whoare associated with a particular product code.

Moreover, a merchant can measure the effectiveness of a marketingcampaign by recording the marketing campaign identification information,such as campaign number, coupon number, etc. into the computer system ofthe PPAITPN when conducting identity verification processes. Thecomputer system of PPAITPN can provide statistics regarding theeffectiveness of the marketing campaign. For example, the PPAITPNcomputer system may report that 325 transactions have been conductedafter sending the marketing, promotional information or coupons to 748consumers.

Therefore, the PPAITPN has effectively become a marketing campaign toolfor merchants. In this disclosure, there is no need for merchants tocollect contact information of consumers. The information isautomatically collected by the PPAITPN during its standard operations ofpreventing identity theft and financial crimes. Although the PPAITPNalso may not have the complete identification information of consumers,the PPAITPN can still effectively deliver the marketing material to thetarget group of consumers. Furthermore, merchants can achieve twoobjects at the same time when they use the services provided by thePPAITPN, which are (1) fraud prevention and (2) marketing informationcollection.

To further automate the process of financial crimes prevention, in oneembodiment of the present disclosure, the transaction networks offinancial institutions, such as the credit card, debit card,stored-value card, gift card, ATM network, etc., can be linked to thePPAITPN computer system so that a consumer's photo, challenge questions,key codes, and/or additional information can be used by merchants whenthey conduct transactions through these transaction networks.

Because each user of the PPAITPN registers with the computer system ofPPAITPN and uses the PPAITPN services based on a unique user ID andpassword, the PPAITPN can conduct payment transactions for the user.There are many ways to transfer funds electronically between a payer's(e.g., consumer's) account in a financial institution and the payer'saccount in the PPAITPN. For example, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, an Automatic Clearing House (“ACH”) completes such anelectronic fund transfer.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, debit card networks,credit card networks, stored-value card networks, gift card networks,pre-paid card networks, ATM networks, etc. transfer funds electronicallybetween a payer's account in a financial institution and the payer'saccount in the PPAITPN.

As a result, any consumer, merchant and financial institution cantransfer funds to another consumer, merchant and financial institutionthrough the PPAITPN. The PPAITPN can become a common platform forconsumers and businesses to conduct commercial activities.

To facilitate anti-financial crimes payment transactions for a consumer,in one embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer (e.g., thepayer) can give the merchant (i.e., the payee) the payer's PPAITPNaccount number or any identification information such as phone number,name, email address, ID number, etc. The payee can then enter theaccount identification information into a device interface provided bythe PPAITPN computer system over the network. Alternatively, the payercan enter the account identification information into the deviceinterface.

In addition, the payee can enter a dollar amount the payer is supposedto pay. If there are sufficient funds in the payer's PPAITPN account tocover the payment amount, the PPAITPN computer system can freeze theamount of payment in the payer's account and preferably issue a randomlygenerated “pass code” (i.e., message) which is different in eachtransaction and which value cannot be known in advance. The pass codecan have a numerical value or an alpha-numerical value and can only beused for a specific transaction with a specific merchant.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pass code, the dollaramount, and/or the payee's name are sent to the payer by a text message,email, fax or voice mail through a wireless phone, Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), or other communications device.

After receiving the pass code and confirming the dollar amount and thepayee's name, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the payer maygive the pass code to the payee who can enter the pass code into thedevice interface of the PPAITPN computer system. If the pass codeentered by the payee matches the pass code sent to the payer, thePPAITPN computer system can transfer the frozen amount of payment in thepayer's account into the payee's account and the payment transaction iscompleted. Alternatively, the payer can enter the pass code into payee'sdevice interface at point of sale or in an online transaction.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, after receiving thepass code, a payer can send a message, e.g., a text message, instantmessage, email, fax, and/or voice mail, to the computer system of thePPAITN to approve a particular transaction based on the particular passcode associated with the transaction.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN computer systemchanges the payer's account number at the request of the payer.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the pass code expiresafter a fixed amount of time. If the correct pass code is not enteredinto the device interface of the PPAITPN computer system within thatfixed amount of time, the pass code expires, the transaction is canceledand the frozen payment amount in the payer's account is released back tothe payer.

To further protect the payer, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, if a pre-defined number of incorrect pass codes have beenentered against a payer's account, the payer's account is frozen becausesomebody may be trying to commit fraud against the payer throughtrial-and-error. The frozen account can be reset (i.e., unfrozen) tonormal by the payer or the system administrator of the PPAITPN. Thepayer can also request the PPAITPN computer system to change the payer'saccount number before resetting the account status to normal.

Since a fraudster of identity theft usually conducts a shopping spreequickly before the identity theft is discovered, in one embodiment ofthe present disclosure, if the dollar amount of a single transaction hasexceeded a threshold set by the payer, the payer's account can be frozenuntil the payer or system administrator resets the account to normal. Inanother embodiment of the present disclosure, if the aggregate amount oftransactions of a payer's account during a pre-defined period of timehas exceeded a threshold set by the payer, the payer's account isfrozen. This frozen account can be reset to normal by the payer or thesystem administrator. In yet another embodiment of the presentdisclosure, if the total number of transactions in a payer's accountduring a pre-defined period of time has exceeded the threshold set bythe payer, the payer's account can be frozen.

The payer can log into the PPAITPN computer system to reset the payer'saccount. Alternatively, the payee or payer can enter an authorizationcode which is only known to the payer to reset the account.

To prevent payment fraud, a debit card company may issue a new PersonalIdentification Number (PIN) upon the cardholder's request. Potentially,a cardholder can request a new PIN for each transaction to preventfraud. However, this approach may cause unnecessary burden to a consumerbecause the consumer has to proactively make such a request before eachtransaction.

Furthermore, such approach becomes difficult to use in some environmentssuch as restaurants. Traditionally, a consumer will not leave the diningtable in the restaurant and the waiter will receive both the PIN and thedebit card from the consumer. If the waiter is dishonest, the consumercan easily become a victim of identity theft because the PIN and debitcard number can be given to a fraudster to conduct any kind offraudulent purchase.

In comparison, the present disclosure fully protects the consumeragainst such fraud. Because the pass code is randomly generated by thecomputer system of the PPAITPN in each transaction, the payee cannotsteal money from the payer because the payee does not know what the passcode is in each transaction until the payer has provided the pass codeto the payee. Because the pass code is generated for a particular payeeand the payer will confirm the dollar amount before giving the pass codeto the payee, the pass code cannot be used for any other transaction. Asa result, for the restaurant example given above, the waiter cannotcommit fraud against the consumer. Because the pass code is sent only tothe payer, a third party is prevented from stealing money from the payerbecause the third party will not be able to receive the pass code inorder to complete the transaction. Consequently, even if the payee or athird party has stolen the PPAITPN account number of the payer, thepayee or the third party cannot commit fraud against the payer.

Because the amount of payment is verified and frozen in the payer'saccount first before the pass code is generated and sent to the payer,the payer cannot default on the payment.

The need to absorb loss as a result of fraud has been a major operatingcost for a payment system. A payment system without good fraudprevention will naturally have high operating costs and may not survivein business competition. The present disclosure is advantageous formobile payment transactions, e.g., sending payments through mobilephones from payers to a payees, because it can also eliminate fraud insuch payment transactions. Traditionally, mobile payment systems dependon cryptography for fraud prevention. For example, technologies havebeen developed to encrypt the payment request and acknowledgement dataand transmit the data through the human voice band channel (i.e., 300Hertz to 3,300 Hertz) by using acoustic modems. Since expensivecryptographic technology and acoustic modems have to be incorporatedinto this kind of payment system, such a mobile payment system has notbecome popular.

In comparison, the present disclosure does not depend on expensivecryptographic technology and special modems. Although a pass code of thepresent disclosure is not encrypted, no third party can benefit from thepass code because the pass code can only be used once for a specifictransaction with a specific merchant. In addition, the pass code willexpire after a period of time. If the payer does not approve thetransaction, the pass code will automatically expire.

Moreover, in one embodiment a pass code is only generated after thetransaction amount is frozen in the payer's account, fully protectingthe payee. As additional protection for the payer, in one embodiment ofthe present invention, the PPAITPN computer system has to receive both apass code and a personal identification number of the payer beforetransferring the frozen amount from the payer to the payee. As a result,it is useless to steal the personal communications device of the payer.

Therefore, the fraud prevention mechanism is automatically embedded intothe operational process of the PPAITPN system without the need to useany special cryptographic device or technology. The existinginfrastructure of voice and data networks will be sufficient to supportthe present disclosure. This low cost nature of the present disclosurehelps make the present disclosure more popular.

Consequently, the anti-fraud payment system of the PPAITPN is useful forall kind of transactions, including point-of-sale transactions whenpayers and payees meet face-to-face, online transactions and remotetransactions when the payee cannot verify who the payer is.

To be more precise technically, the pass code needs not be “randomlygenerated.” The intention behind “random” is to make sure that nobodycan figure out what the correct pass code will be for a particulartransaction until the payer has received it. Therefore, any method ofpass code generation that can fulfill this intention of“unpredictability” can be used with the present disclosure.

The length and complexity of the pass code is a trade-off decision. Forexample, the probability for a fraudster to correctly guess a numericalpass code which has six digits in length is one out of one million(i.e., 10×10×10×10×10×10). If we use an alpha-numeric pass code with sixcharacters in length, the probability will be reduced to the approximatemagnitude of one of one billion (i.e., 36×36×36×36×36×36). In general,the longer the pass code is, the more secured it will be.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the pass code isalso presented in a bar code format on the screen of the personalcommunication device so that a device interface can directly read thebar code and there is no need for verbal communications between thepayer and payee. In fact, the pass code can be directly sent frompayer's wireless phone, smartphone, PDA, etc. to the payee's deviceinterface through optical, acoustic, electronic, magnetic,electro-magnetic media or other media to smooth the payment process fora point-of-sale transaction.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when a payer places anorder on the Internet, the payer can enter the payer's PPAITPN accountnumber or account identification information into the device interfaceof the Internet merchant. This PPAITPN account number or accountidentification information is re-sent by the Internet merchant to thePPAITPN computer system which can send a randomly-generated pass code tothe payer. Then, the payer can enter the pass code into the deviceinterface of the Internet merchant. This pass code is re-sent by theInternet merchant to the PPAITPN computer system to transfer the paymentamount from the payer's PPAITPN account to the payee's PPAITPN account.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, after receivingthe pass code, a payer can send a message to the computer system ofPPAITPN to approve the transaction. As a result, the payer can securelycomplete the online transaction without releasing any personalinformation, reducing the possibility of fraud, and protecting thepayee.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a payer can order goodsor services remotely, e.g., through a phone call, by giving the payeethe payer's PPAITPN account number or account identificationinformation. In addition, the payer provides the payee with the randomlygenerated pass code which the payer has received from the PPAITPNcomputer system. As a result of the present disclosure, the payee cancomplete the transaction without the need to know the payer's identityand is fully protected in the transaction.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a payer can completethe payment transaction by himself at an automatic checkout stand. Thepayer can enter his PPAITPN account number or account identificationinformation into the checkout stand, which can re-send the payer'sPPAITPN account number or account identification information to thePPAITPN computer system. The PPAITPN computer system can send the passcode to the payer. Then, the payer can enter into the checkout stand thepass code which can also be re-sent to the PPAITPN computer system totransfer the payment amount from the payer's account to the payee'saccount.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, after receivingthe pass code, the payer can send a message to the PPAITPN computersystem to approve a particular transaction based on the particular passcode associated with that transaction. Both payer and payee are fullyprotected against fraud in this transaction and the payer's identity isalso fully protected.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer's account numberor user ID at the PPAITPN computer system can be the phone number of apersonal communication device of the consumer. Since each phone numberis unique in each country, a phone number of a personal communicationdevice of a consumer can uniquely identify the consumer. If consumers ofmultiple countries are users of the PPAITPN computer system, the countrycode can be added to maintain the uniqueness of the account number oruser ID.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer's emailaddress is used as the user ID or account number. Since each emailaddress is unique, consumer's email address can be used as user ID oraccount number at the PPAITPN computer system.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, an account numberor user ID is assigned by the PPAITPN computer system.

The system of the present disclosure can potentially replace all thetraditional payment instruments and, at the same time, provide improvedprotection for consumers, merchants and financial institutions.Furthermore, there is no need for consumers to carry any traditionalfinancial instruments such as cash, check, credit card, debit card,prepaid card, stored-value card, gift card, ATM card, etc. Moreover, thepresent disclosure can quickly and securely transfer money to any placewith access to the PPAITPN.

In addition, the above anti-fraud system can be used to protecttraditional credit card, debit card, stored value card, gift card,prepaid card, stored-value card, check transactions, etc. against fraudwhen the financial account numbers and networks are coupled to thePPAITPN computer system. For example, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a pass code can be randomly generated by the PPAITPNcomputer system after a credit card number, a debit card number, apre-paid card number, etc. and the dollar amount are entered by thepayee. The pass code, the dollar amount and the payee's name are sent tothe payer, for example, in a text message, email, or a voice mail. Thetransaction is not completed until the payee has successfully enteredinto a device interface the correct pass code which the payer can giveto the payee or until the payer has entered the correct pass code at thedevice interface.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, after receivingthe pass code, the payer can send a message to the PPAITPN computersystem to approve a particular transaction based on the particular passcode associated with that transaction.

If the credit card, debit card, prepaid card, etc. is fabricated orstolen by a fraudster, the fraudster would not receive the pass code,unless the fraudster also has stolen the customer's mobile phone, PDA,smartphone, or email account. A Personal Identification Number can beused to further strengthen the security so that a fraudster cannotcomplete the transaction even if he has stolen the personalcommunication device of a consumer because the fraudster may not knowwhat the Personal Identification Number is. Of course, it is importantto remind the payer that he/she should immediately disable this paymentfunction in his/her PPAITPN account, disable the mobile phone,smartphone or PDA, or change the contact information in the PPAITPNcomputer system database if he/she loses his/her device which is used toreceive the message.

The present disclosure can also be used to protect the PPAITPN accountuser ID, password and/or PIN against theft. Traditionally, a securitytoken device is used to protect login security. Such an approach isgenerally expensive because hashing, synchronization, digital signature,cryptography and/or other complicated technology are required to producea token. In addition, the token device itself costs money. Furthermore,a fraudster can still steal the token device from a user.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, after a user (e.g., aconsumer, merchant, or financial institution) has correctly entered theuser ID and password and/or PIN when the user tries to login from asource application, a pass code is randomly generated by the system. Apass code can be a simple numerical number or an alpha-numerical numberwhich will expire after a short period of time. Since no hashing,synchronization, digital signature, cryptography or other complicatedtechnology is required to generate a pass code, the PPAITPN computersystem can easily produce such a pass code at very low cost.

This pass code is immediately sent to a destination other than thesource application from which the user is attempting login. For example,the destination can be an email address, phone number, etc. based on thecontact information of the officially registered user stored inside thesystem. The user has to enter the correct pass code into the system tocomplete the login process before the pass code expires. As a result,even if a fraudster has stolen the user ID and password and/or PIN, thefraudster cannot log into the system without having the important passcode. Because the pass code is randomly generated and is different ineach login, a third party is unable to steal such a pass code.

There is no need to purchase any token device which can become veryexpensive. The login process of the present disclosure can be quicklyimplemented as long as the user has some communication device such as acellular phone which is very popular today.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides an enhanced protection tocomputer-based systems against identity theft and fraud.

The present disclosure can also prevent ATM fraud. For example, in oneembodiment of the present disclosure, the computer system of the ATMnetwork can send a randomly-generated pass code to the owner of the ATMaccount after a subject has entered the ATM card and PIN number into anATM terminal. If the subject cannot enter the correct pass code within apre-defined amount of time or has entered incorrect pass codes more thana pre-defined number of times, the subject is treated as a potentialfraudster, and the ATM transaction is aborted.

Under such circumstance, in one embodiment of the present disclosure,the ATM card is held by the ATM terminal without being returned to thesubject in order to protect the account holder of the ATM account. Inanother embodiment of the present disclosure, the ATM account is frozento protect the true holder of the ATM account.

As an additional convenience to the consumer, in one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, a consumer can go shopping without carrying anytraditional financial instruments such as cash, credit card, debit card,prepaid card, check, monetary instrument, stored-value card, gift card,etc. For example, the merchant can enter the dollar amount and theconsumer's PPAITPN account number into the device interface of thePPAITPN computer system. The consumer can obtain the pass code fromhis/her cellular phone, smartphone, PDA, etc. and give it to themerchant to complete the transaction. This option is very useful toprotect young children whose parents do not feel comfortable lettingchildren carry cash or pre-paid cards for safety reasons.

In fact, a consumer can easily conduct any payment as long as he/shecarries some type of communication device, such as a mobile phone,smartphone, PDA, etc. As a result, in the event that a consumer forgetshis/her wallet containing financial instruments he/she could still paythe merchant through his/her PPAITPN account. If the consumer forgets tocarry the communication device, he/she can still use the merchant'scomputer to log into the PPAITPN to directly transfer funds from theconsumer's PPAITPN account to the merchant's PPAITPN account.

Sometimes, cell phone, smartphone, PDA, etc. have to be turned off atcertain locations (e.g., some restaurants). It is also possible that thesignals of cell phone, smartphone, PDA, etc. cannot be receivedcorrectly at certain locations. To handle such unusual situations, inone embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN computer systemcan generate a pass code in advance in response to the request of theconsumer.

As a result, the consumer can give his/her account number and the passcode to the payee based on the same procedure as described above. Aconsumer should only perform such type of transactions if he/she trulytrusts that the payee will not use his/her pass code for fraudulentpurposes.

To protect the consumer, in one embodiment of the present disclosure,the consumer can enter the PPAITPN account number of the payee inadvance so that the pass code provided by the PPAITPN computer system isused to conduct a payment transaction with that particular payee.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumer candetermine how long the pass code will stay effective. As a result, apass code will automatically expire if it is not used within thatpre-defined period of time.

In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a consumer canspecify a maximum dollar amount permitted for a pass code. As a result,the pass code cannot be used if the dollar amount of the payment hasexceeded the maximum amount specified by the consumer.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumer can specifythat one pass code can be used for multiple payment transactions atpossibly different stores. For example, this application is necessaryfor a consumer to do holiday shopping at a mall where signals ofcommunication devices cannot be correctly received. Under suchcircumstances, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumerspecifies a maximum dollar amount for the total amount of transactionspermitted for that pass code.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumer specifiesa maximum dollar amount for each of the transactions permitted for thatpass code. In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, theconsumer specifies a maximum number of transactions permitted for thepass code.

There are many ways or many combinations of ways to protect theconsumer. A trade-off between security and convenience should beconsidered.

To help consumers post “fraud alerts” with consumer credit reportcompanies, in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPNcomputer system periodically sends messages to the consumers to remindthem to post “fraud alerts.” Once a consumer has posted a fraud alert,he/she can inform the PPAITPN computer system through the deviceinterface of the PPAITPN computer system so that the PPAITPN computersystem does not send any reminder to the consumer until the time torenew such fraud alerts.

To avoid forgetting to renew a fraud alert, in one embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the consumer can enter his/her preferred earlywarning period into the PPAITPN computer system. For example, if theearly warning period is seven days, the PPAITPN computer system canbegin to send reminders to the consumer beginning seven days before theexpiration date until the fraud alert has been renewed.

As an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPNcomputer system can link to computer systems of credit report companiesto automatically renew the fraud alerts with these credit reportcompanies whenever the fraud alerts have expired. This service cancontinue for a particular consumer until he/she stops such service.

To protect the private information of consumers, in one embodiment ofthe present disclosure, consumers appoint the PPAITPN as their agent torenew fraud alerts. In addition, the credit report companies can recordand store the consumer's PPAITPN identification information in itsdatabase.

After a consumer has posted a fraud alert with the credit reportcompany, the consumer can ask the PPAITPN to renew the fraud alertwhenever it expires. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, thePPAITPN computer system informs the computer of the credit reportcompany to renew the fraud alert based on the PPAITPN identificationinformation or account identification information provided by the creditreport company.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the computer system ofthe credit report company checks with the PPAITPN computer systemwhether a renewal is required based on the consumer's PPAITPNidentification information or account identification informationprovided by the credit report company. As a result, there is no need forthe PPAITPN computer system to record any private information about theconsumer in the PPAITPN database.

If the PPAITPN computer system cannot link directly to a computer systemof a credit report company, in an alternative embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the PPAITPN computer system collects from a consumer allinformation required by the credit report company to post a fraud alert.In addition, the PPAITPN computer system emulates the consumer'sbehavior by logging into a device interface of the computer system ofthe credit report company, providing the information required by thecredit report company and submitting the request for posting a fraudalert on behalf of the consumer.

The PPAITPN computer system can repeat this process whenever the fraudalert is about to expire. As a result, there is no need for any humaninvolvement in this process. If the consumer does not want this postingfraud alert service anymore, the consumer can inform the PPAITPNcomputer system to stop such service.

As contemplated in the described embodiments, some of many possiblecombinations are described below as examples. The computer system of thePrivacy Protected Anti-Identity Theft and Payment Network (“PPAITPN”)500 and a packet switched network, such as the Internet 600 enable aconsumer 100, a financial institution 200, a retail store 300 and anonline merchant 400 to jointly prevent financial crimes as shown in FIG.1 when conducting transactions.

Reference should now be made to the flowchart of FIG. 2 in combinationwith the system diagram of FIG. 1, which together illustrate anexemplary process in which a consumer can register with the computersystem of the PPAITPN.

First (block 2001), a consumer 100 inputs his name, user ID and,password into the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 through theInternet 600.

Through the Internet 600 (block 2002), the consumer 100 further inputsinto the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 some partial data shown onhis official identification document (e.g., last four digits of thedriver license number or passport number, expiration date of the driverlicense or passport, the first five digits of the zip code of theaddress shown on the driver license or passport, etc), credit card,debit card, or prepaid card (e.g., last six digits of the card number,the security code, the expiration date of the card, the type of card,etc.), check (e.g., the last eight digits of the checking accountnumber, etc), and/or other financial instruments.

Then (block 2003), a consumer 100 inputs his contact information such asmobile phone number, email address, etc. into the computer system of thePPAITPN 500 through the Internet 600.

Furthermore (block 2004), the consumer 100 uploads his photo into thecomputer system of the PPAITPN 500 through the Internet 600.

In addition (block 2005), the consumer 100 inputs into the computersystem of the PPAITPN 500 through the Internet 600 a set of challengequestions, the corresponding answers, and/or at least one key code.

Reference should now be made to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3A and 3B incombination with the system diagram of FIG. 1, which together illustratean example of how the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 protects theconsumer 100 and a merchant (e.g., retail store) 300 through theInternet 600.

When a presumed consumer (e.g., a “customer”) conducts a transactionwith a retail store 300 based on the identity of the consumer 100, theretail store 300 can ask the consumer to provide an identificationdocument (e.g., driver license, etc.), and a payment instrument such ascredit card, debit card, prepaid card, or check.

The retail store 300 enters (block 3001), for example, the last sixdigits of the credit card number and the last four digits of the driverlicense number into the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 through theInternet 600. The computer system of the PPAITPN 500 searches itsdatabase (block 3002) and display the names of all the possible matchesthrough the Internet 600 based on the information entered by the retailstore 300. The retail store 300 selects the correct name based on thename shown on the driver's license of the consumer. Based on theselected name, the photo of the consumer 100 which is stored in thedatabase of the computer system of PPAITPN 500 is displayed through theInternet 600 (block 3003).

The retail store 300 compares the photo of the consumer 100 with theappearance of the presumed consumer (decision block 3004), if the photodoes not match the appearance of the consumer (NO branch 3005), theretail store 300 should reject the transaction (block 3012). If thephoto of the consumer 100 seems to match the appearance of the presumedconsumer (YES branch 3006), the retail store 300 has the option to askthe challenge questions or request key codes (block 3007) displayedthrough the Internet 600 based on the questions of the consumer 100stored inside the database of the computer system of PPAITPN 500.

The retail store 300 can take different actions based on whether thepresumed consumer can correctly answer the challenge questions orprovide the key codes designed by the consumer 100 (decision block3008). If the presumed consumer cannot answer the challenge questionscorrectly or cannot provide the key codes (NO branch 3009), the retailstore 300 should reject the transaction (block 3012). On the other hand,if the presumed consumer can correctly answer the challenge questions orcan correctly provide the key codes (YES branch 3010), the retail store300 can proceed in the transaction (block 3011).

Reference should be made to the flowchart of FIG. 4 in combination withthe system diagram of FIG. 1, which together illustrate an example ofhow an online merchant 400 can prevent financial crimes through thecomputer system of PPAITPN 500.

When a presumed consumer conducts a transaction with an online merchant400 based on the identity of the consumer 100, according to theconvention, the online merchant 400 requests the consumer to provide hisname and the account number of the payment instrument (e.g., creditcard, debit card, prepaid card, check, etc.), the expiration date,and/or the security code. The online merchant 400 may input (block4001), for example, the last six digits of the credit card number of theconsumer, the name of the consumer, the expiration date, and/or thesecurity code into the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 through theInternet 600.

Because it is almost impossible for two people to have the same name,the same last 6 digits on their credit cards, the same expiration date,and the same security code, the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 cansearch its database and find the record of the consumer 100 (block4002). In the unlikely event of two people having the same set ofpartial data as described above, the computer system of the PPAITPN 500can request additional partial data such as the last four digits of thedriver license number, the first five digits of the zip code shown onthe driver license, etc.

Once the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 has identified the record ofthe consumer 100 in its database, (block 4003) the computer system ofthe PPAITPN 500 can provide the online merchant 400 with the challengequestions of the consumer 100. The online merchant 400 can takedifferent actions based on whether the consumer can correctly answer thechallenge questions or provide the key code designed by the consumer 100(decision block 4004). If the consumer cannot answer the challengequestions correctly or cannot provide the key codes correctly (NO branch4005), the online merchant 400 should reject the transaction (block4008). On the other hand, if the consumer can correctly answer thechallenge questions or can correctly provide the key codes (YES branch4006), the online merchant 400 can proceed in the transaction (block4007).

To illustrate an example of how the computer system of the PPAITPN 500protects the consumer 100 and a financial institution 200 through theInternet 600, reference should now be made to the flowcharts of FIGS. 5Aand 5B in combination with the system diagram of FIG. 1.

When a prospective consumer attempts to open an account or conducts atransaction with a financial institution 200 (e.g., a bank) based on theidentity of the consumer 100, the financial institution 200 can ask theconsumer to provide an identification document (e.g., driver license,passport, etc.). The financial institution 200 enters a set of partialdata (block 5001) of the presumed consumer, for example, the last fourdigits of the driver license number, the expiration date of the driverlicense, and the first five digits of the zip code shown on the driverlicense into the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 through the Internet600.

The computer system of the PPAITPN 500 searches its database (block5002) and display the names of all the possible matches through theInternet 600 based on the information entered by the financialinstitution 200.

The financial institution 200 selects the correct name based on the nameshown on the driver license of the presumed consumer. Based on theselect name, the photo of the consumer 100 which is stored in thedatabase of the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 can be displayedthrough the Internet 600 (block 5003).

The financial institution 200 compares the photo of the consumer 100with the appearance of the presumed consumer (decision block 5004), ifthe photo does not match the appearance of the presumed consumer (NObranch 5005), the financial institution 200 should reject thetransaction (block 5012). If the photo of the consumer 100 seems tomatch the appearance of the consumer (YES branch 5006), the financialinstitution 200 has the option to ask the challenge questions or requestkey codes (block 5007) displayed through the Internet 600 based on thequestions of the consumer 100 stored inside the database of the computersystem of the PPAITPN 500.

The financial institution 200 can take different actions based onwhether the presumed consumer can correctly answer the challengequestions or provide the key codes designed by the consumer 100(decision block 5008). If the presumed consumer cannot answer thechallenge questions correctly or cannot provide the key codes (NO branch5009), the financial institution 200 should reject the transaction(block 5012). On the other hand, if the consumer can correctly answerthe challenge questions or can correctly provide the key codes (YESbranch 5010), the financial institution 200 can proceed in thetransaction (block 5011).

As illustrated by the above examples, consumers, merchants and financialinstitutions can jointly prevent financial crimes and avoid losses anddamages through the computer system of the PPAITPN 500.

To illustrate an example of how the computer system of the PPAITPN 500protects a user if his/her user ID and password are stolen, referenceshould now be made to the flowchart of FIG. 6 in combination with thesystem network diagram of FIG. 1.

When a presumed user intends to log into the PPAITPN computer system,he/she must enter the correct user ID and password (block 6001) like thetraditional approach. If the user ID and password are correct, thePPAITPN computer system can randomly generated a pass code which isdifferent in each login. In addition, the PPAITPN computer system cansend this pass code to a destination associated with the officiallyregistered user through a message (block 6002).

The presumed user confirms receipt of the pass code by entering the passcode, which he/she just received in the message, into the PPAITPNcomputer system (block 6003). The PPAITPN computer system compares thepass code entered by the presumed user with the pass code generated bythe PPAITPN computer system and makes a decision (decision block 6004).If the pass code is incorrect (the NO branch 6005), the PPAITPN computersystem can reject the login (block 6008). If the pass code is correct(the YES branch 6006), the PPAITPN computer system can permit the userto login (block 6007).

A consumer may have forgotten to bring his/her wallet or have losthis/her wallet while he/she is away from home. Under such circumstances,he/she may still have the need to conduct a payment transaction when atraditional payment instrument and identification document (e.g., driverlicense, etc.) is not available. In addition, for online transactions orremote transactions, the payee cannot tell for sure whether the payerhas the correct identity and authority to complete the transaction. ThePPAITPN computer system 500 can resolve the issues as mentioned above.

To illustrate an example of how the computer system of the PPAITPN 500enables the consumer 100 (i.e., the payer) to pay a retail store 300(i.e., the payee) without releasing any personal information and withoutusing any traditional payment instrument, reference should now be madeto the flowchart of FIGS. 7A and 7B in combination with the systemdiagram of FIG. 1.

The payer 100 gives his/her PPAITPN account number to the payee 300 andthe payee 300 enters this account number and the dollar amount of thetransaction into the device interface of the PPAITPN computer system 500(block 7001) through the network 600. The PPAITPN computer system 500searches its database to locate the account of the payer 100 based onthe account number input by the payee 300 (block 7002).

The PPAITPN computer system 500 determines whether sufficient funds arepresent to cover the payment of the transaction (decision block 7003).If there is not a sufficient amount of money in the payer's PPAITPNaccount (NO branch 7004), the PPAITPN computer system 500 informs thepayee to reject the transaction (block 7012). If there are sufficientfunds in the payer's PPAITPN account to cover the payment (YES branch7005), the PPAITPN computer system 500 can freeze such payment amount inthe payer's account, randomly generate a pass code and send the passcode to the payer 100 through a message (block 7006).

The payer 100 confirms receipt of the pass code by giving the pass codeto the payee 300 who enters the pass code into the device interface ofthe PPAITPN computer system 500 through the network 600 (block 7007).The PPAITPN computer system 500 then compares the pass code entered bythe payee 300 with the pass code sent to the payer 100 (decision block7008). If the pass code is incorrect (NO branch 7009), the PPAITPNcomputer system 500 can inform the payee 300 to reject the transaction(block 7012). If the pass code is correct (YES branch 7010), the PPAITPNcomputer system 500 can transfer the frozen payment amount from thepayer's account to the payee's account and the payee 300 can proceed tocomplete the transaction (block 7011).

Because the pass code is randomly generated in each transaction and isonly sent to the payer 100 for that specific transaction, there islittle chance for a third party to know the pass code or to reuse thepass code to commit any payment fraud. Because the dollar amount of thetransaction has to be approved by the payer 100 before the payer 100gives the pass code to the payee 300 for that specific transaction,there is no chance for the payee 300 to commit any payment fraud againstthe payer 100. Because the payment amount in the payer's PPAITPN accountis frozen before the pass code is randomly generated and sent to thepayer 100, there is no chance for the payer 100 to commit any paymentfraud against the payee 300. Because the payee 300 only needs to knowthe payer's account number, the payer's identity is fully protected.Because the payer 100 only needs to provide the pass code to the payee300 to complete the transaction, this transaction can be conductedeither face-to-face or remotely.

To further protect the consumer, in one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a consumer's PPAITPN account number can be changed upon therequest of the consumer. As a result, it does not make any sense for athird party to steal the PPAITPN account number which is just atemporary reference number in the transaction.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumer definesthe maximum dollar amount that can be used in each transaction. If atransaction has exceeded this maximum dollar amount, the PPAITPN accountwill be frozen until the consumer resets it back to normal. In yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure, the consumer defines themaximum number of transactions that can occur in a fixed period of time.If the number of transactions has exceeded this maximum number, thePPAITPN account will be frozen until the consumer resets it to normal.

As a result, a consumer can shop without the need to carry anytraditional financial instrument such as credit card, debit card,prepaid card, gift card, check, cash, etc. or identification document,such as a driver's license. Even if the consumer forgets to bringhis/her cellular phone, smartphone, or PDA, he/she can still conductpayment by logging into the PPAITPN computer system and transferringfunds from his/her PPAITPN account to the merchant's PPAITPN account.

The PPAITPN computer system can also help a consumer prevent fraudstersfrom opening financial accounts under the consumer's identity by postingfraud alerts with credit report companies. To illustrate an example ofhow the computer system of the PPAITPN 500 helps the consumer 100 post afraud alert with a credit report company, reference should now be madeto the flowchart of FIG. 8 in combination with the system diagram ofFIG. 1.

First, a consumer 100 posts a fraud alert with a credit report company(block 8001). Then, the consumer 100 informs the PPAITPN computer system500 of the expiration date of such a fraud alert and his/her desiredearly warning period (block 8002). For the purposes of this disclosure,the early warning period is defined as a period used by the consumer toprepare for the fraud alert posting action before the expiration date ofthe fraud alert.

The PPAITPN computer system 500 compares the beginning day of the earlywarning period with the calendar day on a constant basis (block 8003)and determines whether the calendar day has reached the early warningperiod of the fraud alert (decision block 8004). If it has not reachedthe desired early warning period (NO branch 8005), the PPAITPN computersystem 500 can continue to compare the calendar day with the beginningday of the early warning period (block 8003). If the calendar day hasreached the desired early warning period (YES branch 8006), the PPAITPNcomputer system 500 periodically advises the consumer to post a newfraud alert (block 8007). This periodic notice can stop after theconsumer posts a new fraud alert (block 8001) and sets a new expirationday for the fraud alert (block 8002).

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the PPAITPN computersystem can link with the computer system of a credit report company.Under such circumstances, the PPAITPN computer system can periodicallypost a new fraud alert for a consumer whenever the old fraud alert hasexpired.

Although some of the preceding descriptions were with respect totransmissions across a single network, e.g., the internet, other typesof transmissions are contemplated. For example, a payer could receive apass code over a first type of network, for example a cellular datanetwork and the payee could the receive authorization via a second typeof network, for example a WiFi network. Therefore, the PPAITPN computersystem may use a combination of communication devices to achieve theobjects of the present disclosure.

The methodologies described herein may be implemented by various meansdepending upon the application. For example, these methodologies may beimplemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.For a hardware implementation, the processing may be implemented withinone or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digitalsignal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors,electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform thefunctions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. Any machine-readable mediumtangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing themethodologies described herein. For example, software codes may bestored in a memory and executed by a processor. Memory may beimplemented within the processor or external to the processor. As usedherein the term “memory” refers to any type of long term, short term,volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is not to be limited to anyparticular type of memory or number of memories, or type of media uponwhich memory is stored.

If implemented in firmware and/or software, the functions may be storedas one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structureand computer-readable media encoded with a computer program.Computer-readable media includes physical computer storage media. Astorage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by acomputer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readablemedia can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical diskstorage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or anyother medium that can be used to store desired program code in the formof instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by acomputer; disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD),laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk andblu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, whilediscs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

In addition to storage on computer readable medium, instructions and/ordata may be provided as signals on transmission media included in acommunication apparatus. For example, a communication apparatus mayinclude a transceiver having signals indicative of instructions anddata. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or moreprocessors to implement the functions outlined in the claims. Thecommunication apparatus may not store all of the instructions and/ordata on a computer readable medium.

The embodiments described in this disclosure can be assembled to form avariety of applications based on the need. Those skilled in the art andtechnology to which this disclosure pertains can appreciate thatalterations and changes in the described structure may be practicedwithout meaningfully departing from the principal, spirit and scope ofthis disclosure. Such alterations and changes should not be construed asdeviations from the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for preventing identity theft,comprising: storing, at a first computer system, a first set ofcustomer-specific information obtained from a data source comprisingcustomer-specific information, the first set of customer-specificinformation being insufficient to determine an identity of a customer;receiving, from a second computer system associated with a merchant, asecond set of customer-specific information obtained via a deviceconfigured to obtain embedded data from the data source; comparing, bythe first computer system, the second set of customer-specificinformation with the first set of customer-specific information toverify the identity of the customer, by: transmitting, from the firstcomputer system to a customer's mobile device, a bar code to bedisplayed on a display of the customer's mobile device, when the firstset of customer-specific information matches the second set ofcustomer-specific information, the bar code associated with a first passcode; receiving, from the second computer system, a second pass codebased on the second computer system reading the bar code from thedisplay of the customer's mobile device; and comparing, at the firstcomputer system, the second pass code to the first pass code; anddetermining whether a transaction should proceed when the identity isverified based on a match between the first pass code and the secondpass code.
 2. The method of claim 1, in which the data source is atleast one of a credit card, a debit card, an ATM card, a gift card, apre-paid card, a stored-value card, a check, a monetary instrument, afinancial account instrument, a brokerage account instrument, aninsurance account instrument, a benefits account instrument, a mobileaccount instrument, or a combination thereof.
 3. The method of claim 1,in which the data source is at least one of a driver's license, apassport, a government-issued identification document, an alienidentification card, a student identification card, a social securitycard, a tax identification card, a national identification card, a voteridentification card, a benefits card, an official identificationdocument, or a combination thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, in whichthe first computer system is at least one of a computer system, personalcommunications device, terminal, device interface, or a combinationthereof.
 5. The method of claim 1, in which the second computer systemis at least one of a computer system, personal communications device,terminal, device interface, or a combination thereof.